Mario
|EU|December 4, 2015 |AUS|December 10, 2015 |NA|January 22, 2016}} | genre = Role-playing | modes = Single-player }} Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, |Mario ando ruīji RPG pēpāmario Mikkusu}}}} known in Europe and Australia as Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros., is a role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. Being the fifth title in the Mario & Luigi series, the game serves as a crossover between Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi. It was released internationally in December 2015, and in North America the following month. Plot While attempting to fix a hole in Princess Peach's castle library, Luigi trips and accidentally knocks over a mysterious book containing the Paper Mario world, causing the paper-thin residents within it to spread across the Mushroom Kingdom. Afterwards, Bowser combines his evil army with that of his paper counterpart, Paper Bowser, and they kidnap Peach and her counterpart, Paper Peach. Mario and Luigi must now team up with Mario's paper counterpart, Paper Mario, to set everything right, defeat both Bowsers, and bring all the paper people back into the book. During their journey, the trio learns several new moves and attacks to assist them in battles. Battle cards replace the badges from the previous games in the series. The trio makes their way through locations such as Sunbeam Plains, Doop Doop Dunes, Twinsy Tropics, Gloomy Woods, and Mount Brrr to reach Bowser's Castle, where the princesses are being held captive. After the trio rescues the princesses, Bowser and Paper Bowser send their castle high in the sky while banishing the trio to a now-destroyed Peach's Castle. The trio traverses Sunbeam Plains (now with paper terrain scattered across it to hinder their progress), Gloomy Woods, and Mount Brrr to access Neo Bowser Castle. After fighting their way through the castle, the trio starts down a long corridor where the Bowser duo sends all their minions to stop them, to no avail. The trio then defeats the Bowser duo once and for all, trapping Paper Bowser back in the book before embarking on a victory parade where they banish the rest of the paper minions. Paper Mario, Paper Peach, and the Paper Toads return to their world before Bowser suddenly attacks the Mushroom Kingdom, sending Mario and Luigi to stop him once again. Gameplay The story of Paper Jam crosses together the universe series of Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario, the aftermath of Sticker Star and Dream Team (and right before Color Splash), resulting in the sprite-based residents of one universe meeting their paper-thin counterparts from the other one. As such, players control a team consisting of Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario. In addition to the moves Mario and Luigi can perform in their series, Paper Mario can use his paper-thin body to perform his own actions, such as squeezing through tight gaps or turning into a paper airplane in battle to help the brothers. Like previous games, battles incorporate various mechanics, such as timing attacks or using "Bros. Attacks". During battle, Paper Mario can make copies of himself, allowing him to deal extra damage or attack multiple enemies at once, as well as use special techniques called "Trio Attacks" that involve him with his counterpart, Mario, and Luigi to attack together. There are also sections where players control giant papercraft versions of Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi to fight other papercraft enemies. Reception | Destruct = 8/10 | GI = 8.75/10 | GRadar = | IGN = 5.9/10 | NLife = 8/10 | rev1 = Hardcore Gamer | rev1Score = | rev2 = GameSpot | rev2Score = 6/10 |NWR = 7.5/10 }} The game received generally positive reviews. Paper Jam holds an aggregate score of 76/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Polygon awarded it 6.5 out of 10, saying "Those desperate for a dose of Mario could do far worse, but it's hard to look inside this machine without seeing what's gotten tangled up inside." Destructoid awarded it 8 out of 10, saying "While it sometimes holds your hand for a little too long and at times fails to take proper risks, it was consistently polished, enjoyable and memorable." GameSpot awarded it a score of 6 out of 10, saying "As Dream Team and Sticker Star proved, Nintendo has a knack for showcasing new and inventive ideas in both series. Paper Jam effectively relies (and often coasts) on its novel crossover appeal. Bold experimentation will have to wait, perhaps in an installment where, conversely, Mario and Luigi visit Paper Mario’s world." It sold around 50,000 copies in Japan during its first several days of release, which equalled around 17.97% of its initial shipment. An edition of the game bundled with Mario Kart 7 sold an additional 2,400 units.Brian, December 12, 2015 "Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is off to a slow start in Japan" (http://nintendoeverything.com/mario-luigi-paper-jam-is-off-to-a-slow-start-in-japan/). Accessed 27 November 2016. Notes References External links * Category:2015 video games Category:Crossover video games Category:Mario role-playing games Category:Nintendo 3DS eShop games Category:Nintendo 3DS games Category:Nintendo 3DS-only games Category:Nintendo games Category:Role-playing video games Category:Video games that use Amiibo figurines Category:Single-player video games Category:Video games scored by Yoko Shimomura Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Parallel universes (video games) Category:Mario & Luigi games Category:Paper Mario games